Purpose
The Bill will replace the current oath or affirmation of allegiance with a
pledge that will not include a reference to the Monarch.

Background
The
Australian Citizenship Act 1948 (the Principal Act) deals with
the situations where a person is taken to be an Australian citizen, which
include citizenship by birth or adoption and the granting of citizenship to
permanent residents who have been in Australia for at least two years. Where
citizenship is to be granted, section 15 of the Principal Act requires the
person desiring to become a citizen to make an oath or affirmation of
allegiance. The current oath and affirmation are contained in Schedule 2 of
the Principal Act and are in the following form:

`I swear by Almighty God [or in the affirmation `I solemnly and sincerely
promise and declare] that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her
Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Australia, Her heirs and successors
according to law, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Australia
and fulfil my duties as an Australian citizen.'

The reference to the Queen is also contained in a number of other oaths
and affirmations. For example, when enlisting in the Defence Forces members
are required to make an oath or affirmation that they will serve Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her heirs and successors. Under section 42 of
the Constitution, Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are
required to make an oath or affirmation of allegiance before they take their
seat. The form of the oath or affirmation is contained in the Schedule to
the Constitution and, again, requires allegiance to be given to the Queen,
Her heirs and successors.

The steps that need to be taken to alter an oath or affirmation depend on
the instrument that gives force to the requirement to make the oath or
affirmation. In the examples given above, the oath or affirmation for
citizenship can only be changed by altering the legislation (as this Bill
seeks); the oath or affirmation in relation to enlistment in the Defence
Forces can be changed by regulation (section 36 of the
Defence Act
1903); while any change to the oath or affirmation made by Members of
Parliament will require a referendum to alter the Constitution.

The proposal to remove the reference to the Queen, Her heirs and
successors in the citizenship oath is not new. In 1973 and 1983 Bills were
introduced that, if passed, would have had this effect. Both passed the
House of Representatives but were rejected by the Senate. The arguments for
and against those Bills were very similar to those raised in relation to
this Bill. Arguments for the change include that the proposed oath or
affirmation would be distinctively Australian, would reflect the
multicultural composition of Australia and would allow people to pledge
allegiance to Australia even though they hold beliefs that would prevent
them from pledging allegiance to a Monarch. Arguments against the proposal
largely centre it being a first step in a process to make Australia a
republic, Australia's historical and cultural links with the Monarchy and
that such a move should be subject to a referendum or plebiscite rather than
a vote in Parliament.

The proposed oath and affirmation of allegiance was announced by the
Prime Minister on 17 December 1992. In the Press Release announcing the
proposal, the Prime Minister stated that the new oath and affirmation would
better reflect the contemporary reality of Australia and our national
aspirations.

Main Provisions
The Bill will commence 60 days after it receives the Royal Assent (clause
2).

Clause 3 will insert a preamble into the Principal Act which states,
amongst other matters, that citizenship represents membership of the
community of the Commonwealth of Australia and that citizenship involves
reciprocal rights and obligations.

Section 15 of the Principal Act will be amended by clause 4 to remove
references to the oath or affirmation and replace them with a reference to
the new pledge contained in proposed Schedule 2 which will be substituted
into the Principal Act by clause 8.

The proposed pledge takes two forms, with the only difference being the
inclusion or exclusion of the words in brackets below:

From this time forward [under God],
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,
whose democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect, and
whose laws I will uphold and obey.

Other amendments contained in the Bill are consequential to the change of
the oath/affirmation to a pledge.

Bills Digest Service
12 May 1993
Parliamentary Research Service

This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should
be consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the Bill.

Commonwealth of Australia 1993

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